7th Anniversary Double IPA | Port Brewing

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Notes / Commercial Description:
Brewed with Columbus, Amarillo and Simcoe and dry-hopped with Columbus, Amarillo and Citra (a new addition this year) hops, Anniversary Ale has pleasant tones of citrus and pine, a screaming hops presence and just enough malt character to add a hint of sweetness.

Pours a hazy orange with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy swaths of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, citrus fruit, and citrus zest aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest flavors on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Identifies itself as a "strong pale ale." I'm reviewing it as an imperial IPA in light of the description and ABV. Acquired for a scant $7.00 at a local Los Angeles beer store. Reviewed live. Expectations are very high; Port's Hop 15 is one of the best imperial IPAs I've ever had. 1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with pretty standard label art and a standard branded pressure cap served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Bottled 04/26/13.

Served cold, straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a two finger white colour head of nice ceam, thickness, and retention (~4 minutes). Body colour is a murky orange-copper. Not horribly vibrant, but passable. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Lacing is mundane. Not the most eye catching imperial IPA I've seen, but it's par for the style.

Sm: Lovely diverse hop profile. Floral character, light nectary character, piney character, and hop oils. Juicy citrus is sorely missed here. The malty side of things isn't as pleasant, with an overabundance of caramel/caramalt and overly sweet pale malts. Almost comes off a bit candied. Some tropical fruit - mango, tangerine. There's some grapefruit zest buried beneath the caramel notes. The balance isn't seeming great based on the aroma, but I'm optimistic. No yeast character or alcohol is detectable. Not my preferred hop character, but I trust Port.

T: Too sweet. Way too much caramel and sweet pale malts; it approaches cloying. Hop character is rather unimpressive, with unevocative floral hops dominating. Some unwelcome tropical fruit hop notes. Hints of pine. No real nectary, juicy, or oily hop notes. Alcohol is noticeable. No yeast character comes through. Not very well balanced at all. This one really misses the mark for me. Not a fan.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Too thick for the lack of deep and diverse flavours. Overcarbonated. Doesn't suit the flavour profile all that well. Presence on the palate is decent. Not as oily as it should be. Sugary. Hardness/softness is mid-range; nothing unique here. Pretty average execution all around.

Dr: Like last year's offering, this anniversary imperial IPA from Port just isn't doing it for me. Bad balance, poor complexity, poor subtlety. Hop 15 this is not. I wouldn't get it again and I'm not too excited about finishing a bottle of this alone. Maybe others with more of a preference for tropical and sweet IPAs will enjoy this one more than I did, but I won't be recommending it to friends. Unrefreshing. Somewhat difficult to drink; the alcohol is noticeable and the sweetness limits intake. Not an ideal beer in the style by any means. Port can do better - and has in the past.

A small head of white foam on a hazy, golden body. Musty, sweaty hops with aromas of pine and grapefruit. The flavor profile is similar to the aroma but with bready malt notes and some citrus notes. A thick body, moderate carbonation, and a slightly sweet finish. A fairly nice hop character, though it isn't as bright as it could be and the malt is a bit too heavy.

Overly juicy/dank citrus notes in the aroma. Overall, not much to the nose.

Orange citrus hops mesh well with the maltyness and then turns to a lingering bitterness. Alcohol creeps up in the aftertaste, put another way the booziness shows its damn ugly head on the back end. Hey, I'm a man though, I can take it.

Bigger mouthfeel, medium to medium-low carbonation.

Good not great IPA. Booze bomb, especially as it warms a bit. I enjoyed the mega citrus/orange aspect. Thanks for the trade kojevergas!

A - Pours an amber orange color with a massively thick and rich cream colored head that's incredibly sticky. (Compared to alot of IPA's the head will get away from you really quick so pay very close attention, it's active.) Carbonation is on the higher side of moderate for the style.

S - Light pine, Citrus, oranges, light floral, and biscuity malt.

T - Resin all over the place with pine, grapefruit, oranges, and lemon from start to finish with a very aggressive bitter grapefruit/pine finish that lingers and lingers, and lingers... There's some light caramel biscuit malt underneath but only comes out for a brief moment before being buried again by a healthy dose of hops. Light alcohol warming on the back end. As the beer warms up there's some light floral character as well.